NATO: "Profound" disagreements remain with Russia after frank talks

NATO and Russia still have "profound and persistent" disagreements, the head of the military alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, says after ambassadors from both sides met following an almost two-year hiatus due to Moscow's annexation of Crimea.

"NATO allies remain firm that there can be no return to practical cooperation until Russia returns to the respect of international law," Stoltenberg adds. At the same time, he says NATO and Russia will likely meet again in this format, without naming a date.

The ambassadors had a "frank and serious discussion," Stoltenberg says, in which both NATO and Russia agreed on the need for a full and rapid implementation of a peace deal for eastern Ukraine.

The NATO allies also raised concerns about an incident in the Baltic region in which Russian jets made low-altitude passes close to a US military destroyer, Stoltenberg says, adding that it is time to update an international agreement on military transparency.

Beirut (dpa) - Syrian government forces and their allies advanced deeper into the shrinking rebel-held enclave in eastern Aleppo on Wednesday, seizing the Old City, while demanding the armed opposition groups leave the area.